US Recommends Designating Badr Organization's Leader, PMF Factions as Terrorists

A convoy of US vehicles is seen after withdrawing from northern Syria, at the Iraqi-Syrian border crossing in the outskirts of Dohuk, Iraq, on October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ari Jalal
A convoy of US vehicles is seen after withdrawing from northern Syria, at the Iraqi-Syrian border crossing in the outskirts of Dohuk, Iraq, on October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ari Jalal
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US Recommends Designating Badr Organization's Leader, PMF Factions as Terrorists

A convoy of US vehicles is seen after withdrawing from northern Syria, at the Iraqi-Syrian border crossing in the outskirts of Dohuk, Iraq, on October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ari Jalal
A convoy of US vehicles is seen after withdrawing from northern Syria, at the Iraqi-Syrian border crossing in the outskirts of Dohuk, Iraq, on October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ari Jalal

The Republican Study Committee (RSC) in the US Congress has recommended designating the “Badr Organization” and its head and secretary-general Hadi al-Ameri, in addition to several factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) as terrorists.

Al-Hurra news station revealed that the report published by RSC stressed that Badr Organization, Ameri, and factions of Kataib al-Imam Ali, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas, Jund al-Islam, among others should be classified as terrorists.

For his part, Ameri pinned high hopes on the Iraqi negotiators that they will not disappoint the Iraqi people who took to the streets demanding the departure of foreign forces and the achievement of full national sovereignty.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hisham Daoud's advisor affirmed that Iraq shares friendly and strong ties with the US as well as other countries in diverse fields such as military, security, energy, culture, and education.

Daoud stressed that the US is a key state and Iraq needs to be on good terms with countries of strong economies.

Earlier, Iraq asked for Washington’s help in the fight against ISIS but Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s government affirms now that Iraq has military capabilities and potentials to face internal risks and terrorism, he noted.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, MP and committee member Aras Habib Karim said that what matters in the current Iraqi-US talks is that it outlines a roadmap for future ties between the two countries.

"It is my belief that the government of Iraq is going to want to retain US and coalition forces," General Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of US forces in the region, said in an online conference sponsored by a Washington think tank.

"And as you know, from my perspective, we're in Iraq to finish the defeat of ISIS and to support Iraq as they finish that defeat and come to a final, final victory against it," he said.



Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.